Attachment 15
                                 

Charles A. Keller, Declassification Officer      October 15, 1948
Declassification Branch
Clyde E. Wilson, Insurance Branch

REVIEW OF DOCUMENT

REFER TO SYMBOL:

We are returning herewith copy of document entitled "Health
Physics:  Instrumentation and Hazard Evaluation" by R.D. Evans,
which you have transmitted to this office for our review and
comments.

We have found this document very interesting and informative.  In
our opinion this document should prove valuable to technical
personnel engaged in handling radio-active materials and we
therefore approve of its being made available to them.  From an
insurance standpoint, we might have some qualms about some of the
information contained therein being made public were it not for the
fact that most of such material is already public information.  For
example, (on Page 33, paragraph 4, the International X-ray and
Radiation Protection Commission is quoted as recommending that "The
evidence at present available appears to suggest that under
satisfactory working conditions a person in normal health can
tolerate exposure to I-rays or radiation gamma rays to an extent of
about 0.2r/day or 1r/week."  (Emphasis supplied).  It is apparent
that the tolerance levels were arrived at with definite
qualifications.  With this bit of authoritative information a
plaintiff's lawyer could make these standards appear to rest on
very questionable foundations.

It has been our experience that most claims of injury due to radio-
activity have come from persons who were almost wholly uninformed
with regard to effects which might be reasonably anticipated.  It
therefore appears that enlightenment of the workers regarding the
possible hazards of their work and precautions necessary to prevent
injury tends to lessen rather than increase the number of insurance
claims.

Our thoughts could perhaps be summarized to state that we can see
no objections from an insurance standpoint to making this document
available to those people who might be able to use it for the
protection of themselves and others in the course of their
employment, but would question the advisability of giving it wide
publication.

                         C.E.W.


Attachment
Document by Evans

Wilson:tm